Sheet metal seaming tool



C. R. SCHLICHT SHEET METAL SEAMING TOOL Filed Dec. 9, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l 193.&* c. R SCHLICHT SHEET METAL SEAMING TOOL FilQd Dec. 9, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 12, r W J/ 077. 6%

" v Patented Oct. 4, 1938 UNITED :STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 2,131,821 SHEET METAL SEAMING TOOL Carl R. Schlicht, near La Crosse, Wis.

Application December 9, 1936, Serial No. 114,984 8 Claims. (01. 113--56) One of the main objects of this invention is to provide such a seaming tool which is simple and economical in construction, and which is w comparatively easy to operate so as to conserve 5 energy and will at the same time produce a firmly clenched seam. r

A further object of this invention is to provide a seaming tool wherein the leverage of a chief operating member, and thereby the force exerted by the jaws on the seam, is gradually and autostandard and readily obtainablemembers for providing several of its parts. i i

These and various other objects and advantages are attained with this invention, as will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein the invention is shown in its preferred form of construction, it being apparent that various other forms and arrangements may be resorted to for carrying out the objects and purposes of this invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan view of my novel seaming tool illustrated in. its preferred form of construction.

Fig'. 2 is an elevational view of the tool in posi- 1 .4 tion on a seam; after completing the first step of the seaming operation.

Fig. 3 is a viewsimilar to that of Fig. 2, but showing the tool in position on the seam at the beginning of the seaming operation.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the tool on'the seam, but shown in its reversed position from that shown in Fig. 2, and at the beginning of the second step of the seaming operation.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 4, with the tool in said reversed position, and when the'second'step of the seaming operation has been completed. r My invention is illustrated in the drawings in its preferred form of construction. comprising a pair of operating levers II and I2 and means 13 Another object of this invention is to provide connecting them to provide pivotal or hinged movement therebetween. For the sake of economy, these levers are made from suitable lengths of ordinary strong metal pipes; and for the lever connecting means I3 I preferably use a strong leaf hinge, which includes a leaf l5 anda lead? It. Said levers II and I2 are secured, respectively, to the hinge leafs I5 and 16, preferably by welding or securing the two levers in vided in the hinge leaves[ The jaw members I! and H! of this tool-are angle-shaped in cross-section, being substantially in the form of angleplates, which comprise, respectively, the clenching jaw portions l1 and I8 serving as the active jaw portions engaging the seam, and the mounting angle portions I1? and l8" wherebythe jaw members are connected to the two opposite hinge parts of hinge means It. One of these jaw members is fixedly connected to ahinge part and its associated lever, while the other jaw member is slidably mounted on the device to provide a sliding movement to it toward and away from its companion jaw member. In this illustrated construction the jaw member I! has its mounting portion l1" secured underneath the hinge leaf l5, as by riveting it thereto, andhas its clenching portion l1 dependingtherefrom; while the other jaw member l8 has its clenching portion l8 extending horizontally toward said clenching portion l'l, adapted to be movable under hinge leaf I6, and it has its mounting portion l8" provided-with means which connects it slidably with the levers and'the hinge means.

In the form of construction shown in the drawings the slidable mounting means for jaw member l8 includes a pair of sleeves l9 secured V on hinge leaf "3, and a pair'of shafts secured to angle portion I8", as by threading them therein and, using locknuts 2| thereon. The shafts 20 are slidable in sleeves l9, and slidable movement is thereby provided to jaw portion l8 toward and away from jaw portion l1, to-and-fro underneath hinge leaf 5. Means is also provided herein for increasing th clenching force of the levers upon the jaw members .during the seaming operation, and in the form illustrated this means includes a collar 22 mounted slidably on lever H, and a pair of links 23 connected to the collar by pivot pins 24. A clevis or yoke-shaped member 25 is secured to angle portion l8", by bolts 26 or the-1ike, and this member 25 is pivotally connected to the free ends of said links 23, as by means of pivot pins 24'. extending outward from. the arms of the yoke member, as best shown in Fig. 1.

two openings pro- In operating this seaming tool it is first placed as indicated in Fig. 3, so that the hinge means rests upon the superposed flanges or bent portions 2'! and 28 which have been previously provided at the joining edge portions of the sheets of metal 29 and 30 to be connected by the seam. The jaw portion I8 is placed at the outside of the depending portion 28 of the superposed portion 28; and the jaw portion I l is placed to bear against the opposite edge partof the superposed portions 2"! and 28, to serve as the holding jaw. Then, upon moving lever ll away from lever 12, the links 23 draw jaw member 18 forward and force its jaw portion 98 against the depending portion 28 to bend it underneath seam portion 22', completing the first step of theseaming operation, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The jaw portion I8" served as the active or clenching jaw during this first step, while the other jaw portion ll served as the holding jaw, and gradually swung downward against the upstanding part 3-l of the seam, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, when'slidable jawportion 18' first bends the over-lapping portion 28 inwardly around the outer edge of portion 21, the heel. or angle part of jaw member I! bears against the opposite edge part of the superposed portions 21 and 28, as shownin Fig. 3, and in the directly opposite direction to the pressure exerted by the bending'upper edge part of seam portion .28, where the holding effect of} jaw member ll is at amaximum, i

During the movement. of thevarious parts, in performing this first step of the seaming opera-.- tion, the shafts 20 have slid further into sleeves i9; and at the sametimacollar 22 has slid downward on lever I l, toward hinge leaf l5. Thus the leverage of lever l I has been gradually and automatically increased during its operative movement away from lever 12, thereby likewise increasing the'force and clenching efiect of jaw !8" upon the seam, and more particularly during the final part of each seamingvstep and. at the time when the greatest-clenching force is most valuable, to produce a-tightly closed seam.

The tool is then reversed in its position upon the seam, for performing the next step of the seaming operation, as shown in Fig. 4. The jaw portion l8 then bears against the upstanding part 3| of the seam, and servesas the holding jaw; while the jaw portion ll bearson the-outer edge of the overlapped and superposed portions 28, 21 and 28', and serves as-the active or'clenching jaw. Then, as the tool isactuated by swinging lever H away from lever l2, this active jaw ll and the superposed-seam portions are brought down into the position shownain' Fig. 5, thereby completing the second step of the seaming operation, and providing a tightly interlocked seam. 7

It should be noted that inbothrof these steps of the seaming operation the lever I2: serves as a stationary or holding lever; while ,le-ver H is moved by swinging it outwardlyaway from lever l2, thus functioning as the active lever; Likewise note that, jaw member H, which is firmly secured to the swingable lever H, is swungduring both steps of the seaming operation; while jaw member la is provided with slidablemovement relative to theother jaw member and parts.

I claimzl a l.v A seaming tool comprising a pair of levers and a pair of jaw members, means connecting the levers for relative pivotal: movement, means for mounting one of said jaw'members fixedly with one of said levers: and the said connecting means, means between the second jaw member and the first said connecting means to mount this jaw member for slidable movement toward and away from said one jaw member, and means operatively connected to the slidable jaw member and being connected with the said one lever to have movement longitudinally thereof, whereby the force applied thru the levers to the jaw members is automatically increased during the seaming operation.

2. A seaming tool comprising a pair of levers and means connecting them for relative pivotal movement, a pair of jaw members one of which includes an attaching portion and a depending jaw portion, means fixedly connecting one of said levers with the said attaching portion, the second jaw member including an upper mounting portion and a jaw portion extending therefrom toward said depending jaw portion, means connecting the said mounting portion operatively with the first said connecting means to provide said second jaw member with slidable movement relative to the first said connecting means, and means operatively connected with the sa d mounting portion and with the said one lever to operate said second jaw member, thereby adapting the tool for different bending operations by reversing it on the seam.

3. A- seaming' tool comprising a pair of levers and means connecting them for relative pivotal movement, a pair of jaws and means for mounting. one of them fixedly with respect to one lever, means for mounting the second jaw on said connecting means to be slidable relative thereto and to the second lever, and means connected with said second jaw and including a member mounted for longitudinal slidable movement on the said one lever, whereby the force applied thru the levers to the jaws is automatically increased during thezseaming operation.

4. The subject matter set forth in claim 3, and wherein the said one jaw has a depending platelike jaw portion, and the second jaw has a platelike lower jaw portion extending horizontally toward said depending jaw portion to move toward it and away therefrom, thereby adapting the tool for different bending operations by reversing it on the seam.

5. A tool for seaming sheet metal, comprising a hinge of two pivotal portions, a lever secured to each portion, a jaw firmly secured to one hinge portion, a second jaw, means mounting it slidably on the'second hinge portion, and means connected with said second jaw and provided with means embracing one of said levers to be slidable longitudinally thereon, whereby to increase automatically the leverage of said one lever and' tion, while the second jaw has a lower plate-like portion and its slidable mounting means adapts it to slide inwardly and upwardly toward the hinge during operation and thereby form a tightly clenched seam.

7. A tool for seaming sheet metal, comprising a pair'of levers and hinge means having a lever secured to each of its opposite hinge portions, a pair of angle-shaped jaw members, one having an upper mounting portion secured to a hinge portion and lever and also having a relatively broad jaw portion depending therefrom, the second jaw-member having a relatively broad jaw portion extending below the hinge means and toward the idependingiportion, means for mounting the second jaw member on the second hinge portion and provide sliding movement inwardly toward the depending jaw portion and slightly upwardly toward the hinge means, and means connected with said slidable jaw member and being connected with said one lever to move longitudinally thereon,- whereby to automatically and gradually increase the leverage of said one lever and thereby the force exerted thru the levers on the jaws during the seaming operation and provide a tightly clenched seam, said tool being adapted for different seaming operations by reversing it on the seam.

8. A tool for seaming sheet metal, comprising a pair of levers and a leaf hinge having a lever secured to each of the hinge leaves, a pair of jaw members, one having an upper mounting portion secured to a hinge leaf and having a plate-like jaw depending therefrom, the second jaw member having an upper mounting portion and having a plate-like jaw extending therefrom horizontally toward the depending jaw, slidably connected companion means having one means secured to the mounting means of the second jaw member and having the other means secured at a slant on the second hinge leaf to provide the horizontal jaw an inward and slightly upward sliding movement toward the depending jaw and the hinge, and means including a member slidable on one of the levers also link means connected to said member and to the mounting means of said second jaw member, whereby the force exerted thru the levers on the jaws automatically and gradually increaseb during the operative movement of the levers, and the tool being adapted for different seaming operations by reversing it on the seam.

CARL R. SCHLICHT. 

